September 29, 2017

Long list of potential candidates in Santa Fe mayor’s race

Santa Fe’s mayoral election next March will likely look similar to Albuquerque’s current race in terms of the number of candidates already showing interest.

The current mayor, Javier Gonzales, announced he would not run for a second term, leaving no incumbent.

Six people have already announced they plan to run for mayor in Santa Fe, and there’s still time for more to enter.

The winner will be the first since the city passed an amendment to the city charter making the city a “strong mayor” governmental system. This means the mayor will have more power than the current system, where a city manager does much of the day-to-day work in the city.

One of the more notable names seeking the position so far is Alan Webber, a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate and entrepreneur. Webber has heavily donated to progressive candidates in New Mexico since losing in the 2014 Democratic primary.

Three Santa Fe city councilors also announced their intention to run.

Councilors Peter Ives, Joseph Maestas and Ron Trujillo all said they would run and each represent south east parts of the city.

Santa Fe Public Schools board member Kate Noble also announced she would run for mayor.

At least two others who have not run for a major public office are also reportedly trying their hands at running for mayor.

Harvey Van Sickle who is an at-large board member of the environmental nonprofit group, Keep Santa Fe Beautiful and Wesley Sandel, a social worker, have also announced their intentions to run.

Similarly, Albuquerque’s mayor Richard Berry did not run for reelection leaving the race wide open.

Earlier this year, Albuquerque saw more than a dozen people interested in running for mayor, but about half of them were eliminated after not getting enough qualifying petition signatures.

According to the Santa Fe City Clerk’s website, mayoral hopefuls must collect signatures from half of one percent of registered voters in the city. They have until October 31, to turn in qualifying signatures.

State Rep. Bobby Gonzales shook his head from side to side after listening to all the suggestions about how to meet a judge's order to provide more resources to New Mexico children who, in the court's view, are not receiving a good public education. "About 15 different ideas," the Democrat from Taos said following a hearing on the topic last week in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

The debate over enforcement of immigration law was front and center this week, with images of children separated from their parents and held in cages along the border in newspapers and TV news. The White House flip-flopped on its explanations and who was to blame, as shown by a damning video in the Washington Post.

State Rep. Bobby Gonzales shook his head from side to side after listening to all the suggestions about how to meet a judge's order to provide more resources to New Mexico children who, in the court's view, are not receiving a good public education.